Nagaland and the fight for a women's quota

Tribal bodies dominated by men, protesting against a 33 percent reservation for women to participate in public office, have brought parts of Nagaland to a standstill.

Credit:Dolly Kikon and Inotoli Zhimomi

Nagaland, in North-East India, is the only
state where there has been sustained opposition to the 33 per cent reservation
for women to participate in public office, a policy which has been implemented
across India. An urban local bodies election was scheduled to take place on
February 1 and would have been the first to implement the reservation. However
it was met with violent protests that shut down educational institutions,
public offices and shops across the state. The election has been indefinitely
postponed, but due to the struggles of Naga women the issue has been kept in
the limelight.

Since 2006, when the first Amendment of the
Nagaland Municipal Act was enacted, tribal bodies dominated by men have consistently
opposed the affirmative action policy passed by the government of India. After
these initial protests, the momentum for the opposition to 33% did not
subside. Opposition grew over the years
as tribal bodies and cultural associations threatened people with dire
consequences if they came out to support the affirmative action.

When the state government of Nagaland
decided to go ahead with the 2017 Municipal election and implement the 33%
reservation for women, male tribal bodies spearheaded a series of protests. In
the beginning church elders and civil society leaders were called upon to
broker a temporary peace. It was agreed that the government would defer the
elections and tribal organisations would call off their opposition campaign.
However, the administration allowed the elections to take place in certain districts
that were not opposed to the reservation. This led to a call for a return to
the streets by the male protestors.

On 5 March 2017, the Central Nagaland Tribal
Council (CNTB) issued an order to “restrain” youth and women who were speaking up for 33% reservation.
State security forces killed three male protesters who were attending public
meetings organised by male tribal bodies. During the weeks to come, mobs organised
by tribal associations burnt down public property. In an attempt to quell the
unrest, the government resorted to censorship of social media and internet.The protesters blamed the government of
Nagaland for failing to consult ‘the people’, in other words, the male tribal
bodies and authorities. Condemning the government of Nagaland for being ‘anti-Naga
people’ and disrespecting customary practices and culture, the violent protests
intensified. As a result, the urban local bodies’ election was postponed indefinitely
and the Chief Minister of Nagaland, Mr. T.R. Zeliang was forced to step down
and hand over power to his colleague Dr. Shurhozelie Leizitsu.

Some normality has been restored after the
decision to postpone the 33 per cent reservation for women indefinitely. Yet,
the situation remains uncertain as public workers do not have offices to return
to. Many government buildings were burnt down by the protesters and equipment
such as pollution toolkits, documents, and furniture destroyed.

The opposition to affirmative action has opened
up serious concerns and debates about gender justice in Naga society. Nagaland,
with a population of 1.9 million, has managed its own civil and legal affairs since
its inception as a federal unit within the Republic of India in 1963. Customary
courts and traditional tribal organisations have functioned as the administrative
and moral authorities in the state. Although there is a Legislative Assembly
where members are elected through the Indian electoral system every five years,
the traditional courts and organisations enjoy a degree of influence that is
unprecedented and cannot be found in other states within the country. A
provision within the Constitution of India, known as Article 371 (A) guarantees
protection of Naga culture and customs, land ownership, including preservation
of local social and religious practices.

These functions have given immense power to
the male tribal councils and associations in Nagaland. However, their rise to
power also needs to be understood against the backdrop of the armed conflict
between Naga national groups fighting the government of India since 1947 for
their right to a sovereign homeland. Given the long conflict, state organs and public
offices in Nagaland are defunct, and Naga society is extremely militarised. Leaders
who are heads of parliamentary political parties and hold important positions are
accused of corruption and of instrumentalising the conflict for their political
gains. Given the political instability, the tribal organisations have emerged
as a powerful public forum. As in other indigenous societies around the world, these
bodies were revered in the past and Naga culture and customs were propagated as
practices handed down ‘since time immemorial’.

The iteration of Naga culture as pure and
unique has come to be contested in the ongoing debate about women’s rights. Advocates
of the 33 per cent reservation, such as women and youth organisations, and male
and female individual voices, have argued against the notion of a static and
masculine Naga culture. They have argued that customary laws and practices that
continue to exclude women cannot be held as instruments of justice. The male-dominated tribal bodies exclude
women’s participation, although Naga women hold important positions as
administrators, doctors, engineers, academics, and are successful
entrepreneurs. It is significant that none of these positions are within the
ambit of Naga traditional institutions. Therefore, the processes of negotiating
for women’s rights in Naga society are regarded as a demand outside the
traditional customary set-up. On this logic, Naga women’s assertions for gender
justice have been tagged as ‘anti-Naga’ move.

Naga tribesmen wait to perform a cultural dance at the opening day of the state annual Hornbill Festival. Credit: PA Images / NurPhoto

There is an anxiety and fear that sharing
traditional decision-making platforms with women will ruin Naga society. Journalist Amrit Dhillon reported these sentiments when she spoke to Naga male protesters. In her piece
titled ‘Nagaland, where men are on strike until women go back to the kitchen’,
she quoted Mr. Hokiye Sema who said, "In Naga society a women is not equal to
man. We give women respect but they cannot make decisions. Even in our village
councils, women speak only if they are invited to give their opinion to the
men. Giving women equality will destabilise our society and our ancient
customs." Speaking to Dhillon, another
Naga male protester, Mr Vekhosayi Nyekha, the co-convener of the Joint
Co-ordination Committee (JCC) said, "Naga women work at home and in the fields.
Men go to war. Men make the decisions. That’s Naga culture for centuries and we
won’t allow anyone to destroy our culture". Despite the powers arrayed against
them, Eyingbeni, a Naga feminist theologian who supports the quota for women
said, "I believe all the chaos is related with (sic) 33% reservation…I cringe
at womenfolk joining the bandh (strike) in their Sunday best...all the more the
reason to reserve seats for them. We will keep hope burning for women".

In order to demand the implementation of the
quota, a signature campaign was launched online in February. Situating the history of excluding
Naga women in political decision making bodies, the campaign stated, "Nagaland
state parliament has only one female (only a fill-in of her husband’s seat who
passed away in the midterm). This is 54 years of exclusive men’s club!! It’s
time for women’s political voice to be heard in Nagaland." The appeal and
campaign was sent to the office of the Prime Minister of India and various
government bodies, Naga traditional councils, and international organisations.
An important part of the campaign appealed for a citizen inquiry to look into
the destruction of property and loss of life during the protests, and to
initiate a debate on gender justice in the state.

It is important to reiterate that the
struggle for gender justice is not spearheaded by women alone. Male and female
supporters of the 33 per cent reservation have encountered Naga men and women
who believe that tribal authority and power should rest with Naga men alone.
Under such circumstances, as cultural and political organisations look to the
central government of India to intervene and resolve the crisis, it is becoming
clear that the battle is closer to home. Unless debates and dialogues for
gender justice and Naga women’s experiences of patriarchy, violence, and
everyday humiliation are recognised, the movement for gender justice will
remain a fragmented one. As Naga feminist activist Inotoli Zhimomi notes, "Implementing the 33% reservation does not reflect negative aspect of
Naga culture, therefore, it should not be seen as a punitive measure against
Naga cultural practices. On [the] contrary, if there is anything negative it is
the rejection of such affirmative action. It is the denial of the patriarchy
that defines Naga society."

About the author

Dolly Kikon is a social anthropologist, and teaches
in the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne.
She is involved with civil and political rights movement in Northeast India and
closely works with advocacy groups focused on land rights, women’s rights, and
campaigns against sexual violence

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